Alpine ski boot

ABSTRACT

Alpine ski boot, the lower part of the boot of which comprises, at the front and/or at the rear, a kerb of standardized height intended to allow the boot to be held on a ski by a front binding and a rear binding, in which the kerbs consist, over part of their height, of a part ( 4 ) nonremovably secured to the lower part of the boot ( 2 ) and, over the remainder of the height, at the choice of the user, of a removable attached piece ( 8 ) that can be fixed under the part nonremovably secured to the lower part of the boot or of a removable attached piece ( 9 ) that can be fixed on the top of the part nonremovably secured to the lower part of the boot. This allows the boot to be raised off the ski.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The subject of the present invention is an alpine ski boot, the lower part of which comprises, at the front and/or at the rear, a kerb of standardized height intended to allow the boot to be held on a ski by a front binding and a rear binding.

[0002] Modern alpine ski boots are generally equipped, at the front and at the rear, with bearing plates which are attached and fixed to the lower part of the boot by means of screws, for example as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5 214 865.

[0003] Modern skis, known by the name of “carving” skis, that is to say skis the sides of which are somewhat curved so that they widen from the middle forward and backward, allow turns of uniform curvature to be made with ease. When weight is transferred onto the edges, the legs are quite steeply inclined sideways, which means that the boots, held by conventional bindings fixed directly to the ski, tend to touch the snow and therefore to destabilize the skier. In order to alleviate this drawback, it is known practice for ski binding elements to be mounted on a raiser plate. Such a plate is described, for example, in patent application EP 0 908 203. This raiser plate does, however, have the effect of increasing the weight of the ski and of impeding the natural work of the ski in bending and in torsion.

[0004] It is an object of the invention to allow the boot to be raised up off the ski without the use of a raiser plate.

[0005] It is another object of the invention to allow simply the heel to be raised so as to increase the forward lean of the boot and therefore of the leg.

[0006] The ski boot according to the invention is one wherein the kerbs consist, over part of their height, of a part nonremovably secured to the lower part of the boot and, over the remainder of the height, at the choice of the user, of a removable attached piece that can be fixed under the part nonremovably secured to the lower part of the boot or of a removable attached piece that can be fixed on the top of the part nonremovably secured to the lower part of the boot.

[0007] The lower part of the boot may, for example, be part of the shell or an attached sole.

PRIOR ART

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 6 065 228 (EP 0 933 034) discloses a ski boot equipped with removable and interchangeable pads at the front and at the rear so as to allow the sole of the boot to be adapted to suit various standards of binding, for example alpine ski bindings, snow boarding bindings or cross-country skiing bindings. It is not possible to raise the boot used with a standardized alpine ski binding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] When the boot according to the invention is used with the attached pieces fixed under the parts of the curbs which are secured to the lower part of the boot, the boot is raised up off the ski by an amount equal to the thickness of the attached pieces. The height of the kerbs complies with the maximum height allowed by the standards. If the boot is used with the attached pieces fixed on the top of the parts of the kerbs secured to the lower part of the boot, then the boot is likenable to a conventional boot.

[0010] The boot can be modified without further ado by the user.

[0011] The material of the lower part of the boot is generally the same as that of the shell of the boot and this material is generally polyurethane. By contrast, the attached pieces may be made of a different material, or even of a multi-material complex exhibiting, in certain regions, a better coefficient of slip, which has the effect of making the binding easier to release in the event of a fall, and, in other regions, characteristics of greater adhesion, avoiding falling when walking.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The appended drawing depicts, by way of example, three embodiments of the invention.

[0013]FIG. 1 depicts the fitting of an attached piece on the kerb on the front part of a boot according to a first embodiment.

[0014]FIG. 2 depicts separately, in plan, the part of the front kerb secured to the lower part of the boot and the two pieces which can be attached to this front part.

[0015]FIG. 3 depicts the fitting of the attached piece under the kerb of the front part of the boot.

[0016]FIG. 4 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the attached piece intended to be fixed under the front part of the boot.

[0017]FIG. 5 is a view in section on V-V of FIG. 4.

[0018]FIG. 6 is a side view of the front part of the boot equipped with the attached piece depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0019]FIG. 7 is a view in longitudinal vertical section of the portion depicted in FIG. 6.

[0020]FIG. 8 is a plan view, from underneath, of second embodiment of the piece intended to be fixed to the nonremovable front part of the lower part of the boot.

[0021]FIG. 9 is a view in section on IX-IX of FIG. 8.

[0022]FIG. 10 is a view in longitudinal section of the front of the boot equipped with the attached piece depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0023]FIG. 11 is a plan view of a third embodiment of the attached piece intended to be fixed under the front part of the boot.

[0024]FIG. 12 is a view in section on XII-XII of FIG. 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025]FIG. 1 shows a boot shell 1 equipped with a lower part 2. In this particular instance, the shell is made of two materials of different rigidities, the lower part 2 being formed as one piece with the more rigid material 3.

[0026] The lower part 2 has a part 4 projecting forward, which can be seen in particular in FIG. 2. This part 4 defines the contour of the front kerb of the boot and its height corresponds to part of the height of a normalized kerb. Two round holes 5 and 6 pass vertically through the part 4 and it has a central frontal cutout 7 of approximately rectangular shape. One of the pieces 8 or 9 can be fixed, according to choice, to the part 4. The piece 8 is in the form of an approximately rectangular plate with a contour tailored to the contour of the lower part of the boot and of the part 4. It is equipped with two pegs 10 and 11 perpendicular to the piece 8 and slightly conically tapered and, on its anterior edge, with a rectangular positioning peg 12 directed in the same direction as the pegs 10 and 11 and of a shape that mates with the shape of the frontal housing formed by the cutout 7 of the part 4 of the lower part of the boot. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the piece 8 can be fixed under the lower part of the boot by introducing the pegs 10 and 11 into the holes 5 and 6 and by introducing the positioning peg 12 into the cutout 7. The front curb in this case consists of the part 4 and of the piece 8 and the boot is raised.

[0027] The piece 9 has a contour that matches the contour of the projecting part 4. It is also equipped with two pegs 13 and 14 identical to the pegs 10 and 11 and with a positioning peg 15 identical to the peg 12. The piece 9 can be fitted onto and fixed to the part 4 of the lower part of the boot to constitute the front curb, as depicted in FIG. 1.

[0028] The rear curb of the boot is produced in the same way as the front curb and can be raised by itself in order to cause the boot to lean further forward.

[0029] The method of positioning using pegs and holes could be replaced by any other appropriate positioning means.

[0030]FIGS. 4 and 5 depict a second embodiment of the piece intended to be fixed on the front part of the boot, that is to say a piece corresponding to the piece 8 of FIGS. 1 to 3. This piece 16 has an overall shape and a contour which are identical to those of the piece 8. It differs from the latter in that it has a frontal wall 17 standing up vertically at its anterior end. This wall 17 follows the contour of the piece 16 and extends on its rounded corners slightly beyond the points where the circular arcs meet the parallel sides of the piece 16. A horizontal wall 18 also extends, backward, from the upper end of the wall 17. As can be seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the walls 17 and 18 cap the nonremovable part 4 of the front curb. The wall 17 presses against the frontal wall of the part 4 while the wall 18 sits on the horizontal upper face of the part 4.

[0031] The piece 16 has a frontal face without discontinuity and the height of which is at least equal to 9 mm. Such a face is particularly suitable for collaborating with the elements of a ski binding pressing against this frontal face. The walls 17 and 18 form a housing into which the part 4 secured to the lower part of the boot sits so that the piece 16 is securely held on the part 4. Furthermore, as a material that has a coefficient of friction lower than that of the material of which the piece 4 is made will preferably be used for the piece 16, the jaw of a ski binding will advantageously rest on the wall 18 rather than on the part 4. As depicted in FIG. 7, the part 4 may therefore consist of a simple projection of the shell 1 of the boot. The piece 16 is also equipped with three holes 19, 20, 21 for the passage of screws for securing to the boot.

[0032] The piece intended to be fixed to the front curb, that is to say the piece corresponding to the piece 9 in the first embodiment, is depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9. This piece 22, viewed in plan, has a concave curvature 23 intended to follow the shape of the frontal end of the shell 1 above the lower part of the boot. The opposite side to the side 23 has a shape identical to that of the piece 16. Along this side, the piece 22 has a wall 24 perpendicular to the plane of the piece 22, this wall 24 being identical in shape and extent in the horizontal plane to the wall 17 of the piece 16. Like the wall 17, the wall 24 has a thickness of about 1.5 mm. The piece 22 also has two positioning pegs 25 and 26 for positioning it on the part 4. The piece 22 mounted on the boot is depicted in section in FIG. 10. In the example depicted, the piece 22 with its wall 24 forms a frontal face, the minimum height of which is 14 mm. The lower edge of the wall 24 adjoining the lower edge of the part 4 and, respectively, the lower part of the boot 2, the height of the vertical outer face of the piece 22 increases in the direction toward the rear of the boot. Once again, the piece 22 has a continuous vertical outer surface capable of collaborating in the optimum way with parts of a ski binding pressing against this face.

[0033] The third embodiment depicted in FIGS. 11 and 12 is in fact a simplified variation of the piece 16 depicted in FIGS. 4 to 7. This variation 16′ differs from the second embodiment through the absence of the horizontal wall 18 and through the presence of two positioning pegs 27 and 28. In all other respects, the piece 16′ is identical to the piece 16.

[0034] Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, a wide range of modification, change and substitution is contemplated in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances, some features of the present invention may be employed without a corresponding use of the other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention. 

What is claimed:
 1. An alpine ski boot, the lower part of the boot of which comprises, at the front and/or at the rear, a kerb of standardized height intended to allow the boot to be held on a ski by a front binding and a rear binding, wherein the kerbs consist, over part of their height, of a part (4) nonremovably secured to the lower part of the boot and, over the remainder of the height, at the choice of the user, of a removable attached piece (8; 16; 16′) that can be fixed under the part nonremovably secured to the lower part of the boot or of a removable attached piece (9; 22) that can be fixed on the top of the part nonremovably secured to the lower part of the boot.
 2. The ski boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the attached pieces (8; 16; 16′) are made of a material with a low coefficient of friction.
 3. The ski boot as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the part (4) of the kerbs that is nonremovably connected to the boot has, on their upper and lower faces, positioning means (5, 6) and wherein the attached pieces have complementary positioning means (10, 11, 13, 14; 27, 28).
 4. The ski boot as claimed in claim 3, wherein the positioning means consist of holes (5, 6) and of pegs (10, 11, 13, 14; 27, 28).
 5. The ski boot as claimed in claim 4, wherein the pegs are frustaconical.
 6. The ski boot as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein the attached pieces (8, 9) have positioning pegs (12, 15) that fit into a frontal housing (7) in those parts of the kerbs which are connected nonremovably to the lower part of the boot.
 7. The ski boot as claimed in one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the removable attached pieces (16, 22; 16′) intended to be fixed at the front of the boot have a frontal part (17, 24) which is positioned in front of the frontal face of the part (4) that is nonremovably secured to the lower part of the boot.
 8. The ski boot as claimed in claim 7, wherein said frontal part consists of a wall (17) extending continuously over the entire frontal part of the front kerb, which frontal part is intended to rest against part of a ski binding.
 9. The ski boot as claimed in claim 7, wherein the removable attached piece (16) intended to be fixed at the front of the boot and which can be fixed under the boot also has a horizontal wall (18) which at least partially covers the upper face of the part (4) nonremovably secured to the lower part of the boot. 